'Joker' Review: A Commanding Joaquin Phoenix Acting Circus

Comic book movies found the newest light of day in Todd Phillips' Joker. Although light may not be the best term to associate it with, as it's definitely one of the grimmest movies of the year.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

With the surge of superhero movies, and now super villains, Joker took it up a notch with its approach and content--staying away from superpowers and focusing more on its subject's descent to madness. The declaration stating that there will be before-and-after Joker might be true after all. I wouldn't be surprised if the succeeding origin movies from now on will continuously reinvent the genre. If not, they'll sidestep to another existing genre that's rarely used in comic book movies. I'm almost already certain that Birds of Prey will use the same technique as this. Although this isn't that original anyway especially with Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight that still feels fresh after a decade since its release.

But there's definitely a change. One that could surprise especially the superfans both in a good way and in a bad way. It's very much about Arthur/Joker and very little about his connection with Batman. There are no magic tricks, but what it has is Arthur's genesis that is disgustingly humane and harrowing. In a way, Todd Phillips' Joker asks the viewers to sympathize with this sad, sad creature but overall it feels wrong however unfortunate his past and present were.

It's a simplistic straightforward story but the journey to its core is startlingly dramatic. It turns from heavy drama to horror and it rarely takes detours to its descent. If it does, it's about his mother and his past. When it stops, it makes a commentary about the garbage situation of the contaminated Gotham city that's not exclusively referring to it as a place but rather as a community. "It's crazy out there", he says. Other than that, it's really about Arthur, his condition and his longing to belong.

As straightforward as it is, it has an incredible amount of craft injected into it. Hildur Guðnadóttir's score and Lawrence Sher's images complement the filth of Gotham, the madness and emotions of Arthur, and the overall eerie vibe of the film.

Then there's Joaquin Phoenix who might really be the best of his generation and with the Joker role, he's able to show what he has in him. Sometimes it's overbearingly good, and sometimes it's inordinately not. It's a commanding performance from start to end. One that's also associated with physical transformation. He pretty much utilized the material as his circus and it feels like he had a good time with it while taking it seriously at the same time. He can't not take it seriously because Arthur's origin is really dark and disturbing. His 'Joker laugh' is also pretty bothersome as it should, making it a scary disease you wouldn't want to wish even to your worst enemy.